The nurse assessing a premature newborn infant auscultates a continuous machinery-like murmur.
This finding is associated with which congenital heart defect?

choice D. Monitor blood glucose levels frequently and observe closely for signs of hypoglycemia. This is because a macrosomic infant (a newborn who’s much larger than average) is at risk of developing low blood sugar levels after birth, especially if the mother has diabetes. Hypoglycemia can cause neurological damage in the newborn, so it is important to detect and treat it promptly.

Choice A is wrong because leaving the infant in the room with the mother without monitoring the blood glucose levels may miss signs of hypoglycemia and delay treatment.

Choice B is wrong because taking the infant immediately to the nursery may separate the infant from the mother and interfere with breastfeeding, which can help prevent hypoglycemia.

Choice C is wrong because performing a gestational age assessment to determine whether the infant is large for gestational age is not urgent and does not address the risk of hypoglycemia.

Normal ranges for blood glucose levels in term infants are 2.6 mmol/L or higher at any time. A blood glucose level of 2.5 mmol/L or less is considered hypoglycemic.

The child’s care should include adequate hydration and pain management. The management of an acute event of a vaso-occlusive crisis is the use of potent analgesics (opioids), rehydration with normal saline or Ringer’s lactate, treatment of malaria (whether symptomatic or not) using artemisinin combination therapy, and the use of oxygen via face mask, especially for acute chest syndrome.

Choice A is wrong because correction of acidosis is not a specific intervention for the vaso- occlusive crisis.

Acidosis may occur as a complication of sickle cell disease, but it is not the primary cause of the crisis.

Choice D is wrong because the administration of heparin is not recommended for the vaso-occlusive crisis.

Heparin is an anticoagulant that may increase the risk of bleeding and does not prevent or treat the sickling process.

Normal ranges for hemoglobin are 11.5 to 15.5 g/dl for children after 2 years of age.

Normal ranges for reticulocyte count are 0.5% to 1.5% for adults and 0.5% to 2.5% for children.